Thu, 07 Dec 2017 19:29:12 -0800WeeblyTue, 05 Dec 2017 08:00:00 GMThttp://www.hiseyeshonduras.com/blog/poor-politicsI am amazed that it has been over a week since the elections here (November 26th) and that the amount of coverage internationally to the growing problematic situation here has been so very little.

Honduras needs your prayers.

The short version of the story is that we have a president running for re-election, a first here, and controversial in and of itself. The main opposing candidate is representing an alliance of a couple parties whose main goal in aligning was to get more votes than the president, as otherwise he looked to be the clear winner. All the other parties here were quite assuredly before the election running for a very distant third place.

The socialist party which is pretty much led by the ousted president from the 2009 coup, where ironically he was also trying to get re-elected, has made statements they are not accepting the election results, which have been quite slow to be reported, and quite close in the outcome. Accusations of tampering have been flying as the results being final and (however one deems) transparent have been slow going. There have been calls for continual protests in the streets, even some not so subtly suggesting violence play a part in overturning this "dictatorship." And for a couple days, there was quite a bit of destruction of private property and looting. That has calmed a bit after a curfew was put in place, but still the streets are being blocked in key areas for some periods of time, making transportation of goods difficult, and cancelling school (for the schools on the US schedule...Honduran government schools are out for break until February) for over a week now because of safety concerns.

Politics (not just lately) in many parts of the world seems to have more to do with the power for those fighting for it than it does for real change for the people being served. While those ardent supporters of both sides claim it would be a disaster for the country to have to live through four years of their opponents, the reality is that for the vast majority of the country life will continue with little or no change. And the vast majority are the economic poor.

These disruptions really are not hurting the wealthy and those with steady employment. To be sure, they hurt service industry businesses quite a bit, those whose stores were looted and/or burned and others, but the greatest hardship is for those that daily are seeking a paying job just to make it through another 24 hours with something to eat.

Right now our mission is operating as normal as can be...construction continues on the Milk Project building, the Churches are meeting, the clinic is open (although...service industry, patient load is down since many have trouble getting transportation), and since all the kids from the Milk Project live within walking distance, they are meeting daily as well. Things are seemingly normal sometimes and in some places here...but not really. How this will play out remains to be seen...there is international interference behind the scenes, along with international observance front and center trying to help, the parties and what they are doing behind the scenes is shrouded. The curfew was established Friday for 10 days...but police are now resisting enforcing it (although violence has not escalated yet) and even still, there are no signs that the situation will be resolved by the time that curfew is set to expire.

So pray if you would...-for God's touch on the hearts of those waging political war, and for all of us that get wrapped up in things like this so tightly sometimes that we forget where our faith, our sight, and love should be. -that He would help ministries and their staff, volunteers, congregants all share Christ's love with everyone around them through this time regardless of what their political position is.-for peace, for stability...so that there could be fostered an environment for economic growth to provide employment for roughly 50% or more of the country, for assurance of being able to leave your home without worry of being able to return for protests, curfews and violence, and done in such a way that only God can get the glory. ]]>Mon, 04 Dec 2017 08:00:00 GMThttp://www.hiseyeshonduras.com/blog/hopping

Things here always seem to be hopping.

A few pictured highlights from the last month (ones that require more explanation than can be given on Facebook or Instagram, those happening picture places of their own.)

We instituted a monthly meal together amongst those in leadership positions in the mission (Oscar, Maria, Darwin, Felipe and Valeria) a while back, and it has been a good time to share, and share deeper the more we meet. Lately I have been experimenting eating out instead of in...allows for no distractions, time to talk in the truck, and to try some new things. These meetings are key to getting cross flow of ideas, information, and communication about the good, the problems, and personal information.

Last month we did McDonald's...and even split a McRib, with some conversation about the US institution that the McRib has become.

(While I am thinking about it...if you need a good movie review, the kind that seems real, and leaves you devistated and with more questions than answers really in the end, with great performances, try "The Founder" which is all about the history of McDonald's.)

​The little Church that could, in Danli had an anniversary in November. This Church is not one we as a mission had planned, and to be honest, are not sure how to best support long term. Right now the pastor lives off of odd jobs, and the clothing ministry...when we have clothing. This is the Church's building you see here, with the pastor's house next door...which is adobe and just about as stable as the Church's building. Pastor Edwin feels called and led to continue here, despite the economic outlook, and lack of property/"real" building. Praying for God's provision for Edwin, his family, and the Church and people of Danli, and wisdom for the mission how to continue to help them there.

The Milk Project continues, under the impetus mostly of Maria's huge heart. The sewing classes she has been giving have been a huge hit for the older kids, with everyone pitching in a bit to help Sammy here, to make a blanket for his use at home.

Imagine not having a blanket of your own? This is a big deal for him.

We continue to look at, and pray over, ways to continue to have the kids over 13 in the project continue to come. I think we are committed to seeing this through until they hopefully graduate high school, or at least giving it a good hard try. Already we have kids that if we were to let him, would stay all day.

The possible work in Sampedrana is still on our radar, and we are working on those possibilities. We have received some financial help when we are ready for the up front costs, which is good...but now are focused on gauging Church interest and how much they are willing to take on and lead into the future.

You can also be in prayer for the Church in Talanga. They are doing gangbusters in terms of reaching children in the area (seen here giving some a ride home after Sunday School...yes, that is right, all these kids choose to come even though their parents do not), but are continually struggling to reach adults there, which is very frustrating for pastor Manuel...and not in a way of saying my Church has X number of people...but in knowing the needs of a fallen world and feeling like you are not making an impact...which he is, but confronting that daily takes a toll.

The clinic ambulance is finally finalized! Not seen here is the tinted windows in the back, but it has a secured stretcher, oxygen, and place for nurse and family. We have rules and such for how it will work, who will drive it, etc. And...we have already had several patients, without even really promoting it well yet. How this part of the ministry will develop remains to be seen, but we are so glad to have this ability now at the clinic, it has been needed for years. And we could not have done it without the 100% support from FAME and IDES that donated the money for its purchase!

I wonder if I could count how many times I wonder how I am screwing things up.

I wonder how many times I actually am.

And I wonder how God deals with all the prayers and requests going up in such chaotic, differently organized ways around the world from so many people.

I cannot even keep up with the prayer requests within our own ministry.

Praying them...and then figuring out which ones we can and are supposed to answer/act on.

We are supposed to be finishing the Milk Project building. It has been what...four years in the making? I thought we could finish by the end of the year. I prayed it, and spent money in faith that we would be able to do it. Now...I am not so sure.

How many homes in the Milk Project need minor work? How many need major work? How many are practically falling apart, like this one...that needs a roof, new wood for the roof, new walls, a floor, and virtually everything else?

Our Churches and their members. One of the rural families was dealing with another family threatening their lives...over where someone dug a trench in the road for a pipe. Another Church has been struggling for a year to reach more than a handful of adults, wearing greatly on the pastor there. Another is reaching deeper into its community trying to reach the youth via one of the public high schools, seeing success but also many issues plaguing the youth of Honduras.

How can we help the Church in Cantaranas with their wall work? What about the needs of some of the people that work for us and dealing with poor living conditions? What about the fact that they will be closing the road in front of the clinic soon for sewer and road work, and we need to make modifications to the man cave to be able to drive in and out of the property...possibly for months?

What if it keeps raining and we cannot build the house the workers need to do the coffee harvest in Sampedrana this year? How will our new foreman in Las Botijas deal with his father-in-law being near death and many hours away?

How do I pray for a pastor and his wife in the US dealing with cancer? How do I approach those that are close to us that do not know Christ? Our truck that was overheating...the government paperwork roadblocks on several fronts, the need versus funds for more staff, how to plan for retirement help better for existing staff...I better stop. You get the idea. Although part of me hopes you don't get the idea.

I think about Christ walking the earth, through crowds, and calling out to Zacchaeus...but not all the others in that crowd with needs, prayers. And so many other times.

I was looking at the old and new mosaic floor in the upstairs offices last week. Pretty. And then thinking about in how many directions one could go, tile to tile.

Which way would you go? If you are tall enough, you see easily. But when you are right on top of each tile, the only way to see the way out is to look on the horizon to the light. Metaphors like that jump out at me sometimes.

I'll have to keep working. I'll have to keep walking, watching, choosing to see, and talking with Him that can only really build anything that lasts, that one tile at a time... He will work it all out. Because heaven knows it...life...is more than any of us can do well on our own.

I really wonder how "real" missionaries do it, and did it a generation or more ago. By real missionaries I mean of course those that fit the mold that I grew up with...living in the jungle somewhere without electricity, certainly without internet, and eating bananas every day to survive.

I can remember when we moved here what it was like, it was not that long ago, but your drink at the grocery store were fairly limited. Coke, Pepsi, bottled water, maybe a few other things like the occasional Gatorade, but choices for canned carbonated beverages were almost non-existent. This extended to chips, cheese, milk (not available in a gallon jug when we got here, just bags), and a list of things that overall seemed to get bigger every time you wanted something, and try not to even think about holiday related items. There were a few cereals available (for a hefty price) but for the most part, if you wanted international fare...you better bring it with you. That was back in the day when groups sometimes would bring some of what they wanted or would need for the week.

I thought about that last week at a local grocery store marveling at their selection of coke/pop/soda. It was not US level...but it was huge. It does not even all fit in this picture.

Ah progress.

Same thing goes for construction supplies. Long gone are the days when dry wall and phillips head screws were strange, new and not purchasable here. Sure, there are some things (like Romex) that still have not caught on, but for the most part, what we need we can get here. Take this picture of the tile for the Milk Project building (so close, so close, we can almost taste finishing, and I think we will borrow from wherever we need to finish even if donations do not keep pace...you can pray about that) with all the tile and needed spacers and other supplies being purchased here locally, cheaper I might add, than I could have in the US.

I bought enough Romex recently to put on a clothing container to supply us for another several years...but otherwise, it is much more cost feasible to buy just about everything else here for construction.

So it is a golden age for availability. A world economy.

Well...almost.

I still routinely get called to play detective on things. It is an odd part of the job...to be the last resort sometimes or the last resort that knows the right people or websites, to find what we need to keep things going.

Last month...it was a car part, some bit for a TV and some cell phone parts. Some modest success there, although one part that was supposedly specific to the model right down to the serial number would not fit.

This month it is this bulb for our slit lamp. The company that makes the slit lamp (optometry piece of equipment) went bust, and given the narrow field to begin with, I have had quite the frustrating path so far to find a replacement. (and believe me...when we find one, we will be getting instead three or more.)

And then yesterday...the blue screen of death for our ultrasound. We got it to boot up again...but today same problem. And apparently our fantastic little unit is not a brand of ultrasound that anyone else in Honduras has ever seen/used. That may make things even more complicated.

​

Not sure that is an interesting post or not, but it is part of what we have to do...sometimes quite satisfying when you can fix something or find what is needed (sometimes even when things are available here, they can be several hundred percent of what the cost on the internet is) and sometimes quite frustrating when it just does not work out. It is a reminder though that ultimately some things are out of our hands. I can plan, I can search, (sometimes I even remember to pray) but ultimately there are large swatches of life that are out of our control. It helps to foment planning for the future, but also sometimes helps to not be so dependent on the material things that cannot be ordered with one day shipping...or even 30, 60 or 90 shipping sometimes.

It is also a reminder to be thankful for what infrastructure development (in general and in helping other countries), access to internet, economic investment, and a growing "world" economy can do for all countries, especially countries that have economic disadvantages in some areas.

]]>Sun, 08 Oct 2017 04:42:37 GMThttp://www.hiseyeshonduras.com/blog/who-do-you-knowFelipe here. You may or may not know me, although odds are that at the time of this writing, most of those reading this do. But how well do we really know anyone?Sometimes it is hard to get to know one and another, depending on proximity, time available, personalities, etc.

For example, many of you do not know that I used to take when first dating Valerie in the early 1990s, I found she did not care for any songs by Tom Petty that were being released at that time. So I took great pleasure listening to classic rock stations, waiting for an older Tom Petty song to come on, and then casually asking if she liked that song, only to then with a dramatic flair announce, "Ah ha! That is Tom Petty!" And yet despite that and many other such stories from real life, she still agreed to marry me.

Another thing that strangers, acquaintances, and even friends sometimes do not get to know is a quality I possess in which I think many of us could identify...inadequacy. When we share our story, I am quick to point out that serving here in general and especially in a position of ministry leadership is definitely not something I identify as a strength or something innate in me. What goes along with that, but that is hard to share in a casual conversation, is a deep seated feeling of inadequacy. Sometimes that can be good...in being able to clearly see a lack of ability to gain favor with God based on merit or good deeds. Sometimes however it can also manifest in an almost crippling lack of belief of worth, of ability, and underlying doubt of Christ's redeeming power. It can be extremely difficult to work well when this is most manifest, hard to participate well in relationships, and hard to just be in public for any length of time. It can leave you feeling trapped in your house, not seeing a way out.

Those are just two embarrassing stories of my past...and present. Stories that can be hard to share, or hard to find people with whom we feel close enough to share. Not everyone wants to share our semi-embarrassing, or perish the thought actual deep dark secrets, with almost anyone. How you handle that will vary...but there is One with whom we can, and should share all that and so much more.

Tom Petty is no longer with us, but his songs are.

In a world (or inside my own brain) that can be so twisted, difficult and hard to navigate, we can take solace/strength in what? Only God...only He can get us through, only He can save our wretched souls. This is no mere platitude, not something we say to make ourselves feel better. Sometimes it does not make me feel better...but I can still know it is better and will get better. Only He can give us clarity in the fog of our brains, only He provides a solid foundation on which we can stand. Only He can lift us up and keep us going when our will gives out...

"You could stand me up at the gates of hell,But I won't back downGonna stand my ground, won't be turned around,And I'll keep this world from draggin' me down,Gonna stand my ground and I won't back downHey baby, there ain't no easy way outHey I will stand my groundAnd I won't back downWell I know what's right, I got just one lifeIn a world that keeps on pushin' me aroundBut I'll stand my ground and I won't back down"

I have been meaning to blog, but to be quite honest have struggled a bit mentally to sit down and write down what I have been feeling. Sometimes in this digital age the number of opinions, stories, feelings and stuff in general being thrown around can be overwhelming. There is quite a bit that could be addressed, could be shared, but in general most of what seems controversial, topical, and in the moment seems sometimes ill fitted to such means of sharing. I tend to prefer more listening, more trying to understand and hear rather than talking and fighting to be understood. It seems to make things easier to comprehend and provides a better position from which to respond, hopefully in love.

So, if you ever want to talk and chew the fat over any of the topics of the day, family, or anything else...shoot me an email. Otherwise, at least for right now, I doubt I'll be commenting on such things here. Now, back to our regularly scheduled blog post.

This month of September had two great groups here among all the other "normal" activities going on, they were a highlight for sure, and again amazingly proved how much can be done in one week with a team here.

The groups both, as did another couple groups this year, worked on the wall/fence surrounding the Cantaranas Church property.

What has been great to see is the volunteers there when we are there, and how much work gets done between our trips as well (as long as funding is there between what the groups bring and what they can raise in the meantime.)

We are not scheduled to have any more teams for at least six months, so that will mean no more help on the wall, but hopefully they can make progress even without all the funding the groups bring to that gargantuan work, and that hopefully by this time next year it can be completed. ​​Groups have also helped on the Milk Project building construction, but for the most part, the Honduran guys have been tackling the big stuff, including the roofing/siding of the second floor (or fourth floor depending on how you want to look at it) which is tricky business indeed.

We are working in faith on this, hoping the donations will continue to come (insert obvious but necessary donation link here: PAYPAL )to finish this on schedule by the end of the year, to move and start operations there in January 2018.

In addition to building a building, we are building plans how to use that building and increase the "use" of the Milk Project once it does move. May God guide those decisions and plans, it should be fun along the way!

Building things up also includes life skills. The sewing ministry in Talanga is proceeding apace, with almost no involvement from us. The Church there started with 10 women, tested their resolve to actually learn sewing by going over theory and how to care for a machine before ever letting anyone loose on one (smart.) Since then, they have slowly started working towards learning how to actually make things along the way (seen here with covers for tortillas), as well as learn about Christ while they do it. None of the women starting this project attended the Church. Where will it go from here?

The mission house is undergoing some more tweaks this year as well. This time, we took out the old bunk beds (they will soon be going to Las Botijas and Sampedrana for use for the coffee harvesters) and added these more comfortable, high falootin' versions that should outlive us all. Group funds pay for these bad boys, and they are the Cadillacs of bunk beds. Hopefully when the Milk Project moves out, and with group help, we will have a much better functioning and welcoming mission house in the future. We love those that come to serve with us and want to take care of them as well as we can. You know, like we actually want you to come back sort of thing.

The building up of our ambulance program is almost done. The vehicle cleared for service, the stickers applied, working on some internal modifications, now just the rules/regulations and it should be good to go into service!

Building things...it is easy to stick to physical things. They are easier...they do not talk back, they involve math, and fit together relatively well. Let us not forget about building each other up, as well as ourselves before Christ. It starts with us, and then to our families, and then to those around us be they near or far. Soren's birthday was this month as well. He seems to be growing up very well in the ways of the Lord. We cannot take the credit though for that...it is a group effort of parents, sibling, extended family, friends, teachers, Church body, groups, and more.

Let us continue to build the Kingdom around us....listening, sharing, understanding, hanging on loosely to the things of the world and instead standing on Christ alone as our foundation and He who would direct us where to go, what to say, and how to do it all. ​

]]>Fri, 01 Sep 2017 19:35:54 GMThttp://www.hiseyeshonduras.com/blog/presume-the-bestI tell my kids that when they are getting guff from someone at school, to stop and think about what might be going on in the life of the person offending them. To think about what they may be going through, and in cases where desired intent is hard to decipher, to presume the best. Several times with hindsight, that has proven to be most helpful to them and good instruction to us all.

There are reasons to do this that are altruistic, and they are good, but mostly this is practical because it is helpful to us...because the anger, bitterness, and depression that can come from our interpretations mostly affects us, not the people that we think have hurt us.

I was reminded of that yesterday while running errands...twice. I was going about my day, on my phone texting while waiting in two different locations. I heard a police officer come in to the room complaining about plans being made and someone needing to make up their mind about if they were going or not. In retrospect about two minutes later, I realized that I had been thinking as she was discussing the situation, that private get togethers should be planned not while at work (which she was, in an police office where I was filling out some paperwork for one of our cars) and that the line outside would have been moving faster if she was not also doing that. It was not angry or bitter, just casual annoyance with only a superficial paying attention...but still. I say that because at some point her seeming anger and busyness came to a head after a phone call saying they were on the way to get the casket right then, and then ending the call with her head and her hands and wondering aloud about how her friend was going to be able to deal with this.

Later I was eating lunch with the kids and a group of North Americans came in where we were eating. I did not have any particular negative thoughts per se, we even gave them a recommendation of what was on sale but not on the menu, but still had my preconceptions and only superficial interest that was quickly wiped clean when we talked about where we were from, and finding out they were from Houston, stuck here for four days more than the mission trip they were on because of Hurricane Harvey, and one of the gentlemen shared that of six relatives living in the area, all six had homes under water. He had his boots on...said that if they got out on a flight, he was ready to get to work as soon as they got off the plane.

I share this because I think we all (mostly myself) could use a reminder that we are surrounded by hurting people in one way or another, mostly seemingly normal folks...people that need some understanding and sympathy rather than too-quick judgement, defensiveness or the like. Oh that I could be consistent in doing that. ]]>Fri, 18 Aug 2017 07:00:00 GMThttp://www.hiseyeshonduras.com/blog/climb-climb-climb

With the small team here from Master Provisions taking video and pictures to share back in the US, we got to take another trip up to Sampedrana, all the way up to the coffee farm at about 5,800'

We stopped at the Church to pick up Alfonso, Henry, several bags of sand (used for making concrete for a ditch they need to pour for the road to clear water better) and wood (for fence posts.)

It is hard to fathom how hard is to build anything up there, given the difficulties of transportation. I say hard when what I really mean is...expensive and time consuming.

It is also hard to capture in pictures the steep nature of the property we have. It is beautiful...but quite impressive in the heights covered in relatively little distance. Driving in the Ford the maximum angle the dashboard shows is about 16 degrees. But my less scientific reading of the hill we walk up to get to the tree shown in the picture showed (taken via the compass on my phone) was somewhere around 25-30 degrees.

I mean, in the previous picture, you get a sense, but this one below is better, as you can see just a tinge of red which is the Ford's roof to the right of Dalton who is waving to me. But what you do not know is...the distance I have covered is perhaps only two hundred feet up the trail. We discussed that in the future having this trail have steps and even a lane for driving would be nice. It would certainly leave you less gasping for breath. But once you catch your breath and turn around...then the view takes it away again.

You would think that a farm so remote would not have many people just passing by, but we have noticed that our avocado trees, which we hoped would produce to give roughly 25% away to people in the Church there, 25% to use as a mission (Milk Project, staff, volunteers) and 50% to sell, has had "disappearing fruit." It appears that when there is little to harvest, some on the mountain are then quite motivated to walk up to our trees for something to eat when they are ripe.

So this is the first time we have been up there to help pick quite a few, albeit a bit early to get them before others do. Oscar and I are the first paying customers in this case, just to get some income and since we had wheels. The next bunch Alfonso will get (hopefully) will be for the Church.

Long term, we need to find another worker that wants a job as well as a place to stay to have someone there full time to keep an eye on things. Especially since we are looking to plant more fruit bearing trees to be along side the coffee in the future.

We have been letting Alfonso grow some beans, onions, and beets as well on the lower portion of the property to help his family out. He surprised us with a gift of some before we headed back. The onions will also mix well with the avocados for some great guacamole.

I will admit that when we started doing devotions as a "leadership" group a couple years ago, that I was not sure how it was really going to go.

Two years in...and the sharing that goes on in those times has been extremely beneficial. Not to mention getting to know everyone better, and get to share more of who we are, a deeper getting to know struggles, praises, and being able to just relate better.

Darwin cannot be there at 8:00 on Fridays this year, and Oscar was out of town this Friday, but we carried on between Maria, myself and Valerie giving the devotion. It was about healing, as she has been listening to some sermons online from a former pastor of ours about the subject.

We listened, we talked, we wrestled. It is a difficult topic really, especially if you deal with a lot of people with illness. Looking at healing that Jesus did and in the Bible...it is a hard-to-deal-with mix of some being healed, some not, God moving, God calling us to prayer...it leaves you possibly with a bit of a paradox, or at least a conundrum.

We arrived at something I thought was most helpful. That in our prayer life in general, as well as when praying for healing, sometimes we miss the point. We can focus on what we are asking for, and what that means for the person or people hearing the prayer...and allow many questions of doubt and whether or not we are praying correctly get in the way.

Instead...we should remember that all prayer is ultimately about getting us closer to God and what He is doing and will do. It isn't about us or how we phrase things. We are free to come to God in our confusion, our anger, in our lack of seeing the bigger picture, knowing that what He will do is so much bigger than what we can see or imagine. And if that point was not clear enough in my mind, I ran across a picture from the cancer ward in Hospital Escuela from a few years ago that showed a Bible verse. Specifically Jeremiah 33:3...

"Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know."

In July some of the students from Lesly's (Maria's daughter who also volunteers in the Milk Project...who will also graduate from high school this year after much hard work on her part, and her mother's part over the years) school came to serve with the Milk Project.

Those studying finance making a fruit salad for the kids, and those studying health giving classes related to such to the kids. This makes the first group of Hondurans coming to serve in the Milk Project, a very exciting thing that will hopefully not be the last.

More hands make the load easier as the saying goes, and we are praying about seeking funding to add another full time staff member to the Milk Project in the future. The needs of managing and loving the kids, and the families, is something Maria does extremely well, but there is certainly room for more help. There is a psychologist that comes up once a week now to volunteer, still getting to know the kids, but hopefully in the future can help with some of the particular issues the kids face.

Maria has also been trying to be a marriage counselor, not something she was particularly seeking, but in this case it involved one of our volunteers wanting to leave her husband for a new lover. What surprised me even more than hearing that was that the husband was willing for her to continue to live in their home, being separated but for her to still be there in one house to be there for the children (seen here to the right in the picture.) The desires to leave were strong though, and now a dad tries to work and care for the kids as best he can. Normally we see this same situation flipped around.

This situation is not unique to Honduras of course. How to serve these children and families, all involved? How to love them enough and correctly? These are daily battles to fight. Spiritual fruit is like fruit salad...it is time consuming, messy, you might get hurt, comes in pieces...and is beautiful when it comes together in the end. ​